AP/Mark LennihanJeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, brandishes the Kindle, in New York in 2007, touting its ability to download 90,000 books, newspapers and magazinesThe Aughts saw the birth of readerly social networking, a flowering of graphic novels and a bunch of faked memoirs. Books about health and food contributed to larger policy and behavioral changes for many Americans, and foreigners writing experimental fiction sold a surprising number of copies. It is has been a strange, fragmented decade in literature, suitable for these multitasking years.

I have tried to tell a little story about these trends with the list below, which aims to be both a snapshot and wholly idiosyncratic. It may give us a good laugh in 2019, but I hope it gives you something to think about -- and something good to read -- during these waning days of the 21st century's first decade.

2000: Stephen King's "Riding the Bullet" comes out digitally, flummoxing many who do not understand why they can only read it on a computer. Chris Ware's gloriously beautiful "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth" is published, becoming one of the first critically acclaimed graphic novels. Michael Chabon's "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" is published. One of the best novels of the decade, it also taps into what would become a decadelong interest in cartooning, comic books and superheroes.

2001: W.G. Sebald's "Austerlitz" blows away everybody within the select group of "serious" readers who enjoy experimental fiction. Jonathan Franzen refuses to go on Oprah when she picks his novel, "The Corrections," for her book club. The ensuing controversy wounds people and makes clear that the gap between "serious" readers and the general reading public has shifted. Billy Collins is appointed poet laureate, and his breezy, accessible style welcomes new readers into the enjoyment of this ancient form. In "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the American Meal," Eric Schlosser taps into a growing discontent with fast foods, and a foodie revolution strengthens as the decade progresses.

2002: Atul Gawande publishes "Complications: A Surgeon's Notes On an Imperfect Science." A brilliant series of essays, the book displays the healthy state of narrative nonfiction in American prose, as well as the unhealthy state of the health care system. Suzan-Lori Parks wins the Pulitzer Prize for Playwriting and is rightfully honored as the nation's most important playwright.

2003: Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" is published and sells so many copies that anyone who has recently claimed no one reads books anymore has to eat their words. The success of Jonathan Lethem's "The Fortress of Solitude" proves that there is also a home for lengthy, complex fiction in the United States. Litblogging becomes an exciting, robust and energetic new way for readers to interact with books. The year sees the founding of several litblogs that continue to be influential and salutary voices in the literary world. Beatrice.com, Bookslut.com, MaudNewton.com, The Elegant Variation (at marksarvas.blogs.com) and TheMillions.com all launch.

2004: "The 9/11 Commission Report: Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States -- Authorized Edition" is both a National Book Award finalist and a best seller. Barack Obama delivers a rousing 2004 Democratic Convention keynote address that marks the arrival of some stunning oratory to the national stage. Jeff Smith's monumental 10-volume graphic novel "Bone" is completed.

2006: Sony launches Sony Reader. "Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation" becomes a sensation, proving there is an audience for books about commas. Cormac McCarthy's "The Road" publishes and becomes a literary darling. Goodreads.com launches, offering readers a place to share their thoughts about books they have read and suggest titles to their friends. Books and social networking get along very well.

2007: Amazon launches Kindle in the United States. Roberto Bolano's "The Savage Detectives" is published in the United States, and he becomes another literary darling. J.K. Rowling finally releases her seventh Harry Potter novel, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

2008: Margaret B. Jones' memoir, "Love and Consequences" about growing up with gangbangers, is revealed to be a fabrication, the latest in a decadelong series of faked or fudged memoirs. "Black Wednesday" is coined to describe what happened on Dec. 3 when the three biggest publishing houses -- Random House, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and Simon & Schuster -- announced severe layoffs and cutbacks. David Foster Wallace, the most inventive voice of Generation X, commits suicide.

2009: Publishers Weekly settles on an all-male "Best Books of 2009" list, sparking controversy over the continued devaluation of books written by women writers. Twitter becomes popular with authors, reviewers, editors and publishers. As of early December, Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) has 1,338,415 followers. McSweeney's, the lavishly produced print journal, launches an iPhone app.

Anne Trubek teaches composition and rhetoric at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.

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